Federal - Mail Fraud

Mail fraud is commonly refers to any scheme in which a person attempts to illegally obtain money or other property through the use of the United States Postal Service. The criminal act also refers to crimes involving wire fraud and sometimes the internet fraud if at any point the use of the postal system is involved.

Title 18 of the United States Code 1341 defines frauds and swindles as follows :

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security, or other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail or such carrier according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,00,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

Title 18 of the United States Code 1342 addresses the illegal use of a fictitious name or address and states :

Whoever, for the purpose of conducting, promoting, or carrying on by means of the Postal Service, any scheme or device mentioned in 1341 of this title or any other unlawful business, uses or assumes, or requests to be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address or name other than his own proper name, or takes or receives from any post office or authorized depository of mail matter, any letter, postal card, package, or other mail matter addressed to any such fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address, or name other than his own proper name, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Title 18 of the United States Code 1343 defines the crimes of fraud by wire, radio or television as follows :

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

Title 18 of the United States Code 1344 defines the crime of bank fraud and states as follows :

Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice -

Title 18 of the United States Code in _______ defines the crime of fraud in connection with a health care benefit program and states :

Whoever knowingly and willfully executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice-

Title 18 of the United States Code in 1348 addresses crimes involving securities fraud and states as follows:

Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice-

Federal Jury Instruction 47.03 states that in order to convict a person of using the mails to further a scheme or plan to defraud the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt :

Federal Jury Instruction 47.04 defines the term "use of the mails" as follows :

The use of the United States mails is an essential element of the offense of mail fraud as charged in Count of the indictment. The government is not required to prove that the defendant actually mailed anything or that the defendant even intended that the mails would be used to further, or to advance, or to carry out the [scheme or plan to defraud] [scheme or plan to obtain money or property by false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises].

The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, however, that the mails were, in fact, used in some manner to further, or to advance, or to carry out the [scheme to defraud] [scheme to obtain money or property by false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises]. The government must also prove that the use of the mails would follow in the ordinary course of business or events or that the use of the mails by someone was reasonably foreseeable.

It is not necessary for the government to prove that the item itself mailed was false or fraudulent or contained any false or fraudulent statement, representation, or promise, or contained any request for money or thing of value. The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, however, that the use of the mails furthered, or advanced, or carried out, in some way, the [scheme or plan to defraud] [scheme or plan to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises].

Federal Jury Instruction 47.07 requires that in order to convict a person of using a wire communication in interstate commerce to further a scheme or plan to defraud and/or a scheme or plan to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt :

Federal Jury Instruction 47.08 defines the term "transmits by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce" as follows :

The phrase "transmits by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce" means to send from one state to another by means of telephone or telegraph lines or by means of radio or television. The phrase "transmits by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce" includes a telephone conversation by a person in one state with a person in another state.

The use of a wire, radio, or television communication facility in interstate commerce is an essential element of the offense of wire fraud as charged in Count of the indictment. The government need not prove that the defendant actually used a wire communication in interstate commerce or that the defendant even intended that anything be transmitted in interstate commerce by means of a wire, radio, or television communication to further, or to advance, or to carry out the [scheme or plan to defraud] [scheme or plan for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises].

The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, however, that a transmission by a wire, radio, or television communication facility in interstate commerce was, in fact, used in some manner to further, or to advance, or to carry out the scheme [to defraud] [to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises]. The government must also prove that the use of the wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce would follow in the ordinary course of business or events or that the use of the wire, radio, or television communication facility in interstate commerce by someone was reasonably foreseeable.

It is not necessary for the government to prove that the information transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce itself was false or fraudulent or contained any false or fraudulent pretense, representation, or promise, or contained any request for money or thing of value. The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, however, that the use of the wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce furthered, or advanced, or carried out, in some way, the [scheme or plan to defraud] [scheme or plan to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises].

To sustain its burden of proof for the crime of knowingly executing a scheme or plan to defraud and or knowingly executing a scheme or plan to obtain the money, funds, or other property owned by or under the control of a financial institution, Federal Jury Instruction 47.11 states that the government must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt :

In relation to the aforementioned section, Federal Jury Instruction 47.12 defines "federal chartered or insured financial institution" as follows :

The term "federally chartered or insured financial institution" means "a bank organized or operating under the laws of the United States" or "a bank with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation."

Federal Jury Instruction 47.13 defines "any scheme or artifice to defraud" and "false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises" as follows :

The phrase ["any scheme or artifice to defraud"] ["any scheme or artifice for obtaining money or property"] means any deliberate plan of action or course of conduct by which someone intends to deceive or to cheat another or by which someone intends to deprive another of something of value.

The term "false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises" means a statement or an assertion which concerns a material or important fact or a material or important aspect of the matter in question and that was either known to be untrue at the time that it was made or used, or that was made or used with reckless indifference as to whether it was, in fact, true or false, and made or used with the intent to defraud. A material fact is a fact that would be of importance to a reasonable person in making a decision about a particular matter or transaction.

The term "false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises" includes actual, direct false statements as well as half-truths, and includes the knowing concealment of facts that are material or important to the matter in question and that were made or used with the intent to defraud.

A "scheme or artifice to defraud" includes a scheme to deprive another person of tangible as well as intangible property rights. Intangible property rights means anything valued or considered to be a source of wealth [including, for example, the right to honest services and the right to decide how one's money is spent].

It is not necessary for the government to prove that the defendant was actually [successful in defrauding anyone][successful in obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises]. It is not necessary for the government to prove that anyone lost any money or property as a result of the [scheme or plan to defraud] [scheme or plan to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises].

An unsuccessful [scheme or plan to defraud] [scheme or plan to obtain money by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises] is as illegal as a scheme or plan that is ultimately successful.

Federal Jury Instruction 47.14 defines "intent to defraud" as follows :

To act with an "intent to defraud" means to act knowingly and with the intention or the purpose to deceive or to cheat.

An intent to defraud is accompanied, ordinarily, by a desire or a purpose to bring about some gain or benefit to oneself or some other person or by a desire or a purpose to cause some loss to some person.

Federal Jury Instruction 47.15 defines each use of the mails and each transmission by wire communication in interstate commerce as follows :

[Each use of the mails] [Each transmission by wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce] to advance, or to further, or to carry out [the scheme or plan to defraud] [the scheme or plan to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises] may be a separate violation of the [mail][wire] fraud statute.

Federal Jury Instruction 47.16 addresses the statutory good faith defense and states as follows :

The good faith of Defendant is a complete defense to the charge of [mail] [wire] [bank] fraud contained in Count of the indictment because good faith on the part of the defendant is, simply, inconsistent with [the intent to defraud] [the intent to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises] alleged in that charge.

A person who acts, or causes another person to act, on a belief or an opinion honestly held is not punishable under this statute merely because the belief or opinion turns out to be inaccurate, incorrect, or wrong. An honest mistake in judgment or an error in management does not rise to the level of intent to defraud.

A defendant does not act in "good faith" if, even though [he] [she] honestly holds a certain opinion or belief, that defendant also knowingly makes false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises to others.

The [mail] [wire] [bank] fraud statute is written to subject to criminal punishment only those people who [knowingly defraud or attempt to defraud] [knowingly obtain money or property or attempt to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises].

While the term "good faith" has no precise definition, it means, among other things, a belief or opinion honestly held, an absence of malice or ill will, and an intention to avoid taking unfair advantage of another.

In determining whether or not the government has proven that the defendant acted with an intent to [defraud] [obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises] or whether the defendant acted in good faith, the jury must consider all of the evidence in the case bearing on the defendant's state of mind.

The burden of proving good faith does not rest with the defendant because the defendant does not have any obligation to prove anything in this case. It is the government's burden to prove to you, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Defendant acted with the [intent to defraud] [intent to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises].

If the evidence in the case leaves the jury with a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant acted with an intent to [defraud] [obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises] or in good faith, the jury must acquit Defendant.

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